As previously discussed, understanding the competition is another key ingredient to thriving and winning in your respective market. After you have identified the space to occupy, next gain deep insights about the key players and how they are fairing. How do you turn around the space to be the preferred service provider? Many of us want to harvest before we plant. It does not work like that! You end up failing to succeed. Those who succeed sustainably, go through a series of failures in their life and business. It is good to dream big, but the dream should be within context.
If you are considering the east African market for example, where are the opportunities? Are they in the banking, manufacturing, telecom, education, hotel, and tourism industries? Which of these opportunities do not require a lot of capital expenditure and political connections? It may be very difficult to begin a business in telecom because the market is getting saturated and the incumbents are strong. Unless you are coming with something very innovative and the competition cannot easily copy and replicate, you need to think of new spaces. The big players will copy it and even do it better, market it and make it appear as if you are the copycat! It is savage out here. To avoid all these kinds of downfalls, look for an empty space to beat the weakness of the big players. The empty space refers to innovative offerings that meet the needs of the market better at an affordable fee in a way no one else can do the same.
To stand out from the crowd, MTN Uganda started home fibre Internet as more people switched to remote working. This was timely as lockdown drove subscriptions. This gives MTN a loyal base of clients who want convenience as most people do not want interruptions caused by phone calls when they are attending virtual meetings. By the time the competition gets to know, MTN Uganda will have set up the infrastructure, and now leveraging on deepening relationships making it difficult for existing customers to churn. It becomes very hard to beat such a company. And that is why it is important to understand the competition and know the needs of the market and offer a solution that is hard to beat in terms of value offered and pricing.
In your current business? What is empty space you are targeting? What offerings are you making that will make you competitive in 3 to 10 years?
Copyright Mustapha B Mugisa, Mr Strategy 2022. All rights reserved
